1 ARST There was a famine in Israel for three years that occurred in the time that David ruled. David prayed to Yahweh about it. And Yahweh said, “In order for the famine to end, Saul’s family need to be punished because Saul killed many people from the city of Gibeon.” BSB BSB: During the reign of David there was a famine for three successive years, and David sought the face of the LORD. And the LORD said, “It is because of the blood shed by Saul and his family, because he killed the Gibeonites.”
2 ARST The people of Gibeon were not native born Israelites. They were a small group of the Amor people group whom the Israelites had solemnly promised to protect when they invaded the land of Canaan. But Saul had tried to kill all of them because he was very eager to enable the people of Judah and Israel to be the only ones living in that land. So the king summoned the leaders of Gibeon BSB BSB: At this, David summoned the Gibeonites and spoke to them. (Now the Gibeonites were not Israelites, but a remnant of the Amorites. The Israelites had taken an oath concerning them, but in his zeal for Israel and Judah, Saul had sought to kill them.)
3 ARST and said to them, “What should I do for you? How can I make up for what Saul did to your people, in order that you will bless us who belong to Yahweh and have so many good things from him?” BSB BSB: So David asked the Gibeonites, “What shall I do for you? How can I make amends so that you may bless the inheritance of the LORD?”
4 ARST They replied, “You cannot settle our quarrel with Saul and his family by giving us silver or gold. And we do not have the right to kill any Israelites.” So David asked, “Then what do you say that I should do for you?” BSB BSB: The Gibeonites said to him, “We need no silver or gold from Saul or his house, nor should you put to death anyone in Israel for us.” “Whatever you ask, I will do for you,” he replied.
5 ARST They replied, “Saul wanted to get rid of us. He wanted to annihilate all of us, in order that none of us would live anywhere in Israel. BSB BSB: And they answered the king, “As for the man who consumed us and plotted against us to exterminate us from existing within any border of Israel,
6 ARST Put seven of Saul’s descendants into our hands. We will hang them where Yahweh is worshiped in Gibeon, our city, the city where Saul, whom Yahweh chose to be king, lived.” The king replied, “Very well, I will hand them over to you.” BSB BSB: let seven of his male descendants be delivered to us so that we may hang them before the LORD at Gibeah of Saul, the chosen of the LORD.” “I will give them to you,” said the king.
7 ARST The king did not hand over Saul’s grandson Mephibosheth to them, because of what he and Mephibosheth’s father Jonathan had solemnly promised to each other. BSB BSB: Now the king spared Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, because of the oath before the LORD between David and Jonathan son of Saul.
8 ARST Instead, he took the two sons of Rizpah and Saul, named Armoni and Mephibosheth—Rizpah was the daughter of Aiah and had been Saul’s slave wife; David also the five sons of Merab, Saul’s daughter. Merab’s husband was Adriel son of Barzillai, was from the city of Meholah. BSB BSB: But the king took Armoni and Mephibosheth, the two sons whom Rizpah daughter of Aiah had borne to Saul, as well as the five sons whom Merab daughter of Saul had borne to Adriel son of Barzillai the Meholathite.
9 ARST David handed these men over to the people of Gibeon. They took those seven men to Gibeon and hanged them on a hill where they worshiped Yahweh. They died during the time of the year that the people started to harvest the barley. BSB BSB: And he delivered them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them on the hill before the LORD. So all seven of them fell together; they were put to death in the first days of the harvest, at the beginning of the barley harvest.
10 ARST Then Rizpah took coarse cloth made from goats’ hair, and spread it on the rock where the corpses lay. She stayed there from the time that people started to harvest the barley until the rains started. She did not allow any birds to come near the corpses during the day, and she did not allow any animals to come near during the night. BSB BSB: And Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it out for herself on a rock. From the beginning of the harvest until the rain from heaven poured down on the bodies, she did not allow the birds of the air to rest on them by day, nor the beasts of the field by night.
11 ARST Someone told David what Rizpah had done. BSB BSB: When David was told what Saul’s concubine Rizpah, daughter of Aiah, had done,
12 ARST So he went with some of his servants to Jabesh in the region of Gilead and got the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan. The people of Jabesh had stolen their bones from the plaza in the city of Beth Shan, where the men from Philistia had hanged them on the day that they had killed Saul and Jonathan on Mount Gilboa. BSB BSB: he went and took the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan from the men of Jabesh-gilead, who had stolen them from the public square of Beth-shan where the Philistines had hung the bodies after they had struck down Saul at Gilboa.
13 ARST David and his men took the bones of Saul and Jonathan, and they also took the bones of the seven men from Gibeon who had been hanged. BSB BSB: So David had the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan brought from there, and they also gathered the bones of those who had been hanged.
14 ARST David’s servants went to the tomb of Saul’s father Kish, in the city of Zela in the land of the tribe of Benjamin. There they buried the bones of Saul and Jonathan also. In this way, they did all that the king had commanded them to do. After that, because God saw that Saul’s family had been punished to pay for Saul’s murder of many people from Gibeon, he answered the Israelites’ prayers for their land, and caused the famine to end. BSB BSB: And they buried the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan in Zela in the land of Benjamin, in the tomb of Saul’s father Kish. After they had done everything the king had commanded, God answered their prayers for the land.
15 ARST The army of Philistia again started to fight against the army of Israel. And David and his soldiers went to fight them. During the battle, David became tired. BSB BSB: Once again the Philistines waged war against Israel, and David and his servants went down and fought against the Philistines. But David became exhausted.
16 ARST One of the Philistine men thought that he could kill David. His name was Ishbi-Benob. He was a descendant of a group of giants. He carried a bronze spear that weighed almost three and one-half kilograms, and he also had a new sword. BSB BSB: Then Ishbi-benob, a descendant of Rapha, whose bronze spear weighed three hundred shekels and who was bearing a new sword, resolved to kill David.
17 ARST But Abishai came to help David, and attacked the giant and killed him. Then David’s soldiers forced David to promise that he would not go with them into a battle again. They said to him, “If you die, and none of your descendants become king, that would be like extinguishing the last light in Israel.” BSB BSB: But Abishai son of Zeruiah came to his aid, struck the Philistine, and killed him. Then David’s men swore to him, “You must never again go out with us to battle, so that the lamp of Israel may not be extinguished.”
18 ARST Some time after that, there was a battle with the army of Philistia near the village of Gob. During the battle, Sibbekai, from the clan of Hushah, killed Saph, one of the descendants of the Rapha giants. BSB BSB: Some time later at Gob, there was another battle with the Philistines. At that time Sibbecai the Hushathite killed Saph, a descendant of Rapha.
19 ARST Later there was another battle with the army of Philistia at Gob. During that battle, Elhanan son of Jair from Bethlehem, killed the brother of Goliath from Gath, whose spear shaft was very thick, like the bar on a weaver’s loom. BSB BSB: Once again there was a battle with the Philistines at Gob, and Elhanan son of Jair the Bethlehemite killed the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam.
20 ARST Later there was another battle near Gath. There was a huge man there who liked to fight in battles. He had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot. He was descended from the Rapha giants. BSB BSB: And there was also a battle at Gath, where there was a man of great stature with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot—twenty-four in all. He too was descended from Rapha,
21 ARST But when he insulted the men in the Israelite army, Jonathan son of Shimeah, David’s older brother, killed him. BSB BSB: and when he taunted Israel, Jonathan the son of David’s brother Shimei killed him.
22 ARST Those four men were some of the descendants of the Rapha giants who had lived in Gath, who were killed by David and his soldiers. BSB BSB: So these four descendants of Rapha in Gath fell at the hands of David and his servants.
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.